


comme ci comme ca

by Ursula



Category: White Collar
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-02
Updated: 2010-01-02
Packaged: 2017-10-05 16:12:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ursula/pseuds/Ursula
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From a collar kink prompt: Kate comes back to collect Neal but he no longer is hers. He belongs to Peter and Elizabeth</p>
            </blockquote>





	comme ci comme ca

Title: comme ci comme ca,

Author: Ursula  
Rating: rating: R  
Genre and/or Pairing: Neal Caffrey, Elizabeth and Peter Burke. Kate's past relationship with Neal discussed   
Notes: Written for White Collar Kink Mem  
Spoilers: not many except for series general facts  
Warnings: A dark story and there is some between the lines issues, non explicit details with Kate that may trigger victim's issues.  
Word Count: 2394  
Summary: Kate comes back to collect Neal

comme ci comme ca,  
Since you are gone, nothing excites me.  
Since you are gone, no one delights me  
1\. Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.  The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise.  No copyright infringement is intended.

 

OooOooO

 

Neal is a darling. Kate never denied that. He is also beautiful and he is so amenable. The trouble is that he likes to play, but not the games that Kate enjoyed the most.

Neal is a girl. Kate is a woman.

Oh, not that Neal didn't have his masculine side, but he is all about romance, the grand gesture, the tender moments. Kate has heard his stories about Nana with her romantic old movies, her Sinatra music, her classic clothing and her loving heart. It's just as well that Kate had none of that. She came into the world crying with rage and that was how she would exit.

Neal is hers. He is another of her things, but she has always been quickly bored. To Neal's credit, he is the least boring of them all. She never totally cuts him loose. It's part of his charm that he believes whatever mendacity she spins to explain her latest disappearance. She is good. She has Neal apologizing, begging to be forgiven for not being a good enough toy. She loves that.

They have known each other since they were children. There was time when Kate believed he was her white knight and that he would rescue her from herself.

Neal lost his looks in prison. She couldn't stand his pallor, those horrible uniforms, his ruined hair and rough skin. When Neal is with her, she maintains him. She has taught him well to use good shampoos and conditioners, to clean his skin well and moisturize. She has her standards and Neal will do anything for her. It was Neal's drab appearance and his moping that caused Kate to say good bye. She went looking for Corbett, who was very exciting and had just knocked over a bank so he had money to spare.

OooOooO

It doesn't surprise Kate to hear Neal has a cop wrapped around his little finger. Neal is a versatile player at the game of love. Kate remembered that Neal and her had been in one of their breakups when Neal found his first boyfriend and was nearly as much in love with him as he was with Kate. The boyfriend was more bi than gay and Kate set out to take him away. It really hadn't taken much. It was for Neal's own good she said. He shouldn't believe anyone could love him like Kate could.

Sometimes Kate was honest enough to admit to herself that the way she loved Neal was more like hate.

It wasn't fair. He was as pretty as she was. Everyone loved him. He, unlike Kate, had the gift of happiness. She couldn't help digging her claws into him, biting him with her pearly teeth.

Kate hates that she loves Neal more than she loves anyone, even herself, especially herself. She humiliates him. She breaks his heart. She sends him packing. She takes him back.

Nothing can make her empty withered nubbin of a heart fill up. But she owns Neal and that's something.

OooOooO

Corbett had been fun, but the last time he beat her, Kate's nose was broken and she really can't afford to lose her looks. It was surprising that Neal had not given her the location of his little dragon hoard of goods. Her little bunny might be growing some fangs. It so amused Kate that she decided to take him back.

If nothing else, Kate is generous to Neal.

And Neal was hers. Whenever she wanted him.

So Kate engineered a little trap for Corbett. She only meant to land him in prison, but really the shoot out which ended his life was all for the best. Kate wanted to move on and ex-beaus can be so difficult especially when they have so many murder one raps.

Kate was pleased that she left Neal that bottle with the oh-so-juvenile hidden map. The map led nowhere. It was just the hook she baited to keep Neal dangling on her line until, if, she wanted him again.

OooOooO

Friends told Kate that Neal's new boyfriend was a stodgy ill-dressed FBI agent. He was constantly with the man or the man's wife so Kate decided to look Neal up in his comfy new den. It was easy enough to find out where Neal lived, but Kate spotted Moz there and Moz didn't really like her. Moz was Neal's puppy dog, horrid little man as he was. Kate makes a note to drive Mozzie away once she has Neal where she wants him.

Rumors were flying around about Neal and his deal. Kate laughed when she heard people saying that Neal had really gone straight.

Nonsense. Neal's head was full of larger than life thieves and charmers. He thought he was Cary Grant or Danny Ocean if not Robin Hood or Butch Cassidy looking for his Sundance Kid.

Neal would never go straight. There was only one force in the universe that could inspire him to even try and, really, why would she? Kate needed Neal to buy her the beautiful things she needed.

So Kate followed Neal when some dowdy matron picked him up. Perhaps some people would consider the woman pretty, but Kate had much higher standards. She wondered who this intruder was and had an urge to pull out her hair, but reminded herself that this was a mere grift. Kate hopes that she will be able to see the moment Neal shatters this woman's illusions. It was a shame that they couldn't always see that sparkling moment when the mark opened his or her hand and realized they had been scammed and held nothing.

Meanwhile, Kate is not pleased that Neal is pretending so well that he loves his time with the dark haired bitch. They are shopping at an antique mall. Most of the time they are holding hands like teenagers, not that Kate had let Neal hold her hand all that much. It made her feel creepy the way Neal was always, touching, touching , touching. It reminded her of….no, that didn't happen. Kate forgets what it was that made her shy of soft cloying touches.

This woman loves being touched. She's fat, Kate thinks, as she observes the curves that defined her figure. She has let herself go. Kate notices the ring on her wedding finger. No, wonder, married. Another reason why Kate would never marry Neal. Married women let themselves go.

The woman has found a hat. She holds it out to Neal. He takes off the one he's wearing, spins it, bows, and lets her try the new one on him. He looks in a mirror and he grins at himself. He takes the hat off and tries it on the woman. She giggles and pirouettes, executing a jazz move flawlessly. Kate is a ballet dancer, but she has never mastered jazz dancing; she hates the woman a little more. She knows each step, how to place her hands, her feet, each motion to tell emotions through ballet. Her jazz teacher said she had to listen to her heart to dance jazz well. She listened to cold silence and thought him a fool.

The woman pays for the hat, confirming that she is keeping Neal and it's all about the money, of course.

Neal's going to break her heart. He will feel terrible about it; the thing about Neal is that he always really believes he is in love with his marks. That's why he is so damn good at this game.

OooOooO

Kate keeps watching. She is more cautious than Neal who wears his heart on his sleeve so steadfastly that it's a wonder that he keeps his head on his shoulders.

Neal gets up at a ghastly hour in the morning to go to work with his cop. Kate finds the man even more laughable than the woman. He's bothered, besmitten, and beguiled. He holds the door for Neal, has lustful eyes on Neal's ass as he wiggles a little more than necessary to get in the car. The cop leans on the seat for a moment, reaches over Neal to get a tall Starbucks' cup. He puts it in Neal's hand and just grins, standing there making moo moo eyes at Neal for the longest time until Neal says something that makes him nod and move around to the driver's seat.

Kate digs her expensive manicure into her palms. She doesn't understand herself. Why is she having a problem with this? She usually likes watching Neal with other people. She especially likes when it's someone Neal doesn't really like, but Kate gets him to put on a sex show for her. She likes the way he looks wounded at her as if wondering how she became so cruel.

That's the heart of the matter. Neal looks like he is having too much fun. He is enjoying this too much.

Kate won't have that. She has had enough. It's time to end the game Neal is playing before it becomes real.

It's for his own good, Kate believes. Neal is just too romantic for his own good and it's obvious to Kate that she has to rescue him again from falling in love.

OooOooO

Kate is nothing if she is not professional. Not that she lacks confidence at her ability to reclaim her property, but if you are going to make an appearance, make it spectacular. Neal is the one who taught her that. She spends all too much money at an exclusive spa, but it is so very nice. She loves being pampered by anonymous strangers as much as she hates the intimate touch of a lover.

She buys a new dress that is like a velvet tray in which to show the glittering hard diamond she is. Beautiful. (Some raw and honest Kate believes that the diamond of herself will do … as long as one looks quickly and moves on. There are flaws. Perhaps she is even a brilliant fake.)

Penning the love note, Kate chews the nub just a little, a habit she shares with Neal. He did it first, she copied, but she does it better.

"Please send Mozzie away, my darling, just for tonight. I want nothing, no one there to stand between us."

Kate ponders Mozzie. She doesn't understand him. Oh, she gets that he loves Neal with helpless devotion, the ugly little toad. What she doesn't understand is why Neal puts such stock in him. Everyone adores Neal. What need does he have for a Moz who is surely more trouble than he is worth for his occasional flashes of insight, his odd bits of knowledge? Kate remembers more than one occasion when Neal has risked his life and freedom to rescue Moz from his latest hapless scam. Moz can dream the perfect paper airplane, but they always come out clumsy and they crash to the ground like flightless birds. All in all, Moz needs to go away permanently. Kate tries not to doubt her powers, but there is that candid voice that warns her that Neal will not let her drive Moz away.

Kate brightens. She has an idea, a lovely one that will permanently rid her of Moz. It will also leave Neal devastated. She loves Neal best when he is crushed, desperate, and alone.

Looking in the mirror, Kate sees herself. She smoothes the slinky black dress. Has she gained weight? She hopes not. Her hand smoothes over the material, feeling the edge of her hip. Still too fat.

OooOooO

Neal is waiting for her on the roof top. There are candles everywhere and the crisp air smells of sandalwood and myrrh. The moon peeks shyly over Neal's shoulder and casts a luminous glow over the soft waves of his hair. His eyes are dreaming. Kate feels that much more beautiful, knowing he is fantasizing about her. She is draped in his regard. He paints the sketchy parts of her and fills them with himself.

"It was awful being without you," Kate tells him. That little break in her voice is so perfect that she considers doing it again, but perhaps that would be too much and she is aiming for flawlessness.

"It took me so long to get away from Corbett. I waited for you to rescue me, but you never came. You never came."

"I had three months left, Kate," Neal said. "Day by day, the ugliness in that place chipped away at my soul. I couldn't have done four more years, Kate. I risked everything to come to you and you were gone."

"It will be all right now," Kate assured. She takes graceful steps over to Neal, executes a perfect fondu to drape herself at his feet. (One of the better foster homes sent her to ballet school as part of her therapy.)

One of Kate's best shill ploys is her tears. She has never lacked for tears. She can cry on command. Sometimes it's hard to stop.

Kate knows she is in a perfect pose, kneeling, her face buried in Neal's lap, her hot tears burning through his trousers. She can feel him trembling and he is hers, hers, hers. She will never share him even if she tosses him aside every time. It's his fault anyway. If he just loved her enough, she would stop being so damn empty. It is his fault.

Kate could see Neal's hand shaking and in one moment he will bring it to her face.

The moment passes. And another. The hand closes to a fist and is gone.

Beneath her cheek, Kate feels a change. Neal no longer shakes. He vibrates. She glances up and Neal is smiling.

How dare he smile when she is executing 'the dying swan' so perfectly?

The cop and his wife come into the room. They look at Kate and they look like the social workers always did. Pity and disgust and some element of horror at the way she is broken and the way she has survived.

The man places his hand on one of Neal's shoulder. The woman on his other. Neal reaches up and away from Kate. His hands are in their hands. He looks from one to the other and his eyes are filled with joy.

Kate wants to break that damn empty bottle she left. She wants to shatter it on the marble table top. She wants to use the shards to rake down Neal's face, to stab at his heart, to make him stop looking so well loved. To make him cry. To take it from him. He dares. He has no right to be happy.

Kate will do it, but the cop reads her and grabs the bottle away, handing it to his wife.

The cop looks at her without expression.

Kate shoots back. "I had him first. I will always have him. He loves me."

The cop says, "I should arrest you and, if you ever try to contact him again, I will. Don't doubt me."

The wife kisses Neal who closes his eyes and holds her hand so hard that his knuckles are white and she is wincing from the pain, but she will not take her hand away because she is strong and Kate is weak. And she is, Kate hates her, the most beautiful woman suddenly that Kate has ever seen. She glows with her happiness.

Kate spits, "He only sleeps with you to get to your husband. You're not sharing. He's stealing him away."

The woman shakes her head and Neal's hand eases its grip on her. "I won't even dignify that with a response."

The woman looks satisfied as she looks from Neal to her husband and they adoringly look back.

Kate gets up and she stumbles. She brings her hand up to slap Neal and someone grabs her to stop her. She whirls around to see Mozzie. He smirks at her.

"You look good, Kate, Corbett must have been feeding you well."

Neal speaks for the first time. He says, "Moz, be a dear and show Kate out. Make sure she doesn't steal anything on the way."

"Wait," Kate said, hating that Neal is looking pained as if she would ever beg for anything. She knows that wishes are never answered. Not really. Not without a terrible price.

"I need some money. Since you have gone straight, you don't need your cache."

Neal glances at the cop as if knowing he will answer for him.

The cop looks so smug. Kate really, really loathes him.

"You were playing the Spanish Prisoner with Neal. Did you know there's a rare variant, useful only for conning a grifter? Where the tables are turned and the con man or woman believes that the fake treasure is real? Neal is so much better than you. At everything. You were conned, Kate. There is no cache. Never was. He spent every dime on you. He was never like you. He holds nothing back. Elizabeth and I have everything now and, unlike you, Neal is enough. He's the treasure you never saw."

Kate is aware that Moz is leading her out, down stairs. Something is thrust in her hand. It's the bottle. Someone has filled it with cash, but it's still empty as she is.

But it's okay. Even as the tears dry on her face, Kate is fixing what happened in her head. She dumped Neal, this time for real and for ever. He bores her. It's not that she ever almost loved him. He was an amuse-bouche in her life and now she is done with him.

Kate is smiling before she is a block away.

The end

(The Spanish Prisoner is a classic con whereupon the grifter tells the mark that he is touch with a prisoner of high origin who will tell them the location of some valuable cache. All the mark has to do is provide money to secure the prisoner's release.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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End file.
